Breaks in Bones, and Cold as Ice
by TeamImprov
Summary: Mac and Jack have been in so many car chases in their line of work it's a damn miracle they've never gotten in an accident. When that finally changes, it isn't even because of the dangers of their job – all it takes is a deer, some black ice, and the backwoods of Montana in the middle of winter to mess up an otherwise perfectly good vacation.


Prompt from thethistlegirl on tumblr: Hypothermia

-This was a fun one, thanks for the prompt!

Summary: Mac and Jack have been in so many car chases in their line of work it's a damn miracle they've never gotten in an accident. When that finally changes, it isn't even because of the dangers of their job – all it takes is a deer, some black ice, and the backwoods of Montana in the middle of winter to mess up an otherwise perfectly good vacation.

**Breaks in Bones, and Cold as Ice**

"How long 'til we get there, homie?"

Mac unfolded the map and laid it across his lap. He let his finger guide his eyes down the small black line signifying the old dirt road they were currently driving down.

"We're about ten minutes away from the cabin." Mac told him before folding the map back up and tucking it away in the side pocket of his passenger door. Jack nodded, smiling excitedly. The windshield wipers were hard at work clearing the rapidly falling snow from the glass.

"I am so glad we finally have the chance to go back to your grandpa's cabin, man." Jack said, reaching over and shaking Mac's arm gently. Mac couldn't help but smile back at the overwhelming enthusiasm radiating off the older man.

"Yeah, after that last mission we could really use a break." Mac agreed, his cracked ribs were still too painful to do anything too strenuous but a few days of nice, quiet ice fishing sounded perfect.

Luckily, his grandfather owned a cabin by Flathead Lake. Usually Mac rented the place out to tourists on vacation but every once in a while it was nice to use it himself. Jack loved coming up here so much it really made it worth it to not just sell the place to someone else and not have to worry about it anymore. The Rocky Mountains were beautiful this time of year. With Mac having grown up in Southern California and Jack being from Texas, it was nice to actually see snow every once in a while. Of course, their missions took them to icy tundras and freezing climates but it was usually just seen as a hassle on missions. It was different when they saw snow on vacation, when it was on purpose.

"You're telling me," Jack said, glancing over at him. "How're you're ribs feeling, bud? Sorry about all these potholes."

"They're okay," Mac said. "They're more annoying than painful."

"That's good to hear, man." Jack said. "Just to be safe, though, once we settle in I'm gonna check 'em out, make sure things are still all good."

Mac rolled his eyes fondly before turning his attention back out the window. The cabin was pretty far away from civilization, which was great considering they lived in LA where you usually couldn't get away from people even if you wanted to. Mac would never say it out loud but he also secretly loved these trips because he had never been able to do them with his own father and in a lot of ways it felt like he was making up for lost time with a better father figure than his own could ever be.

"It's not the first time I've gotten banged up on a mission, you know." Mac said pointedly. Jack had a tendency to worry about him to the point of mother henning him into insanity sometimes. That wasn't what he wanted this trip to be about. Yes, they were only here because Mac was on medical leave and couldn't go on missions – and luckily Matty had granted Jack permission to take some time off, too, so they could take this long-awaited trip, but that didn't mean he wanted Jack fussing over him the whole time.

They hadn't had the chance to make their way up to this neck of the woods in years, even before the whole Nikki fiasco. It was nice to slow down every once in a while. Mac loved working for the Phoenix Foundation and going on important missions that saved countless lives because it gave him a sense of usefulness, of pride, even. He could go home at the end of the day and know he had used his skills for good, but years could go by just doing mission after mission. Jack often liked to remind him of how important it was to see the forest through the trees and enjoy life when there weren't people trying to kill him. This was as good a time as any to try, Mac guessed.

"Yeah, that only plays into my point there, slick, we've been in a rough patch lately and it's making me start to doubt your self-preservation instincts."

"It's not like I asked them to beat me up or anything." Mac said defensively. "And you're one to talk, you always run headfirst into danger."

"You know me, man, that's just my way." Jack told him. "I'm here to make sure you stay in one piece so you can do your thing and save the day. I can't do that if you antagonize the bad guys until they try to cave your ribcage in with their steel toed boots."

"First of all, I didn't know they were wearing steel toed boots." Mac counted off on his fingers. "And secondly, I don't know why you have to head butt everyone who threatens me. I've told you over and over again that it's the most ineffective way to knock someone out because if you don't do it exactly right-"

"Then I could just end up knocking myself out which doesn't help anyone." Jack finished for him. "Yeah, yeah – remember I'm the one who taught you that one there, homie."

"Exactly, then you already know why you shouldn't do it."

"No, no, what I know is that since I'm the one trained in advanced close-quarters combat and you're the one trained in bomb disposal, and also happen to be a freakin' expert in everything else under the sun, we should just leave the balance of responsibilities at you doing your thing and me doing the punching – and head-butting if the situation calls for it – and just leave it at that."

"Fine," Mac said. "But I can't make any promises."

"Kid," Jack said exasperatedly. "I swear you are going to be the death of-"

Mac saw it first, the light brown body of a doe and the smaller fawn standing directly in the center of the road.

"Deer!" Mac shouted, pointing.

"I see 'em." Jack said calmly. The snow was so thick in the air it was like driving with a white sheet on the windshield. The doe picked her head up and bolted for the side of the road but the fawn merely panicked and lay flat – right in front of where the front passenger side tire was heading. "Hold on!"

Mac gripped his ribs with one hand and let the other find the 'oh-shit' handle above his door and held on tight as Jack veered around the tiny form. Mac sighed in relief when the wheel missed the fawn by almost a foot.

"Nice job," Mac said, and Jack laughed as he turned the wheel to straighten the car but they were going around a sharp turn. "Shit!"

Mac felt the moment the tires hit the black ice. There was a jolt, and a swerve, and then the car was spinning out of control. There was nothing but dense forest around them and it took only a second for the tires to leave the road and crash into the ditch. They were going too fast and the momentum carried them further into the snow, closer to the woods, and a steep incline. Mac had just enough time to send a terrified look Jack's way before the front end of the vehicle dipped down the embankment and they slid out sideways, Mac's side of the car heading straight for a cluster of trees at the bottom.

All of Mac's senses exploded as his brain frantically tried to keep up with the cacophony going on around them, until he was seeing sounds as bursts of jumbled colors, and hearing the sharp sunlight reflecting off the snow around them. He felt his sore ribs getting compressed by the seat belt, and his leg ignited in an eruption of fiery pain before they hit the grove of trees and everything came to a crushing, searing stop. There was the shattering of glass and screeching metal before he felt a hot knife jam into his side.

It took a second before Mac could breathe enough to realize the car had come to a complete stop. He could still hear the engine revving as the car tried to accelerate but couldn't.

"Jack?" Mac called out, letting his too-heavy head fall sideways toward where Jack was sitting. Mac's airbag hadn't deployed and apparently neither had Jack's. The older man was limp against the steering wheel, his head turned away from Mac so he couldn't see how injured the older man was. Mac didn't want to think about the sparks of pure agony lighting up his pain receptors like a Christmas tree. It was easier to focus on Jack.

"Hey, Jack, wake up." Mac lifted a shaky hand and placed it on Jack's arm, shaking gently. "Jack?"

Jack remained still and Mac tried to get closer to him but flinched when the sharp pain in his side sent starbursts of light across his vision. He leaned back and closed his eyes, a shallow breath shuddering through his clenched teeth.

"Jack, come on, please wake up." Mac tried again when he could finally open his eyes and not feel like he was about to puke. "Need you right now, buddy."

That seemed to do the trick. Mac let his eyes fall shut again in pure relief when Jack groaned, his arm jerking under Mac's hand.

"You okay?" Mac asked when Jack carefully lifted himself away from the steering wheel. He hissed in pain and fell back against the seat; he pulled his arm away from Mac's grasp and clutched at his ribs.

"Think we're broken rib twins, now." Jack groaned before he raised the hand to his head, smearing blood from a cut on his temple across his forehead. "Did you get the plate number of the jackass that hit us?"

Mac started to chuckle but that merely ignited the sharp ache trying to consume his every thought. He sucked in a deep breath which caught Jack's attention immediately.

"You okay, bud?" Jack asked, turning toward Mac and blinking rapidly to try to clear what Mac assumed was blurry or double vision – maybe both. Truth be told, Mac wasn't sure if he was okay or not. "There's a tree in the car."

Mac smiled again. He was very well aware of the large tree branches that had plowed through his window and were currently residing in the space between his body and the dash.

"There's a tree in me, too." He said it as a joke, holding up the hand he had been absentmindedly clutching at his side, his long fingers coated red, but Jack simply blanched at his crimson fingertips. "Think a branch shish-kabobed me."

"Well that's no bueno." Jack said, fighting with his seatbelt to get free. It was Mac's turn to worry when Jack hissed in pain when he moved his left arm. "Damnit, arm's broken. What about you, other than being skewered how're your ribs? Anything feel broken?"

"Don't think they're worse than before," Mac told him honestly. It was true, they felt the same. Well, maybe not exactly the same but there were other things that were taking up more of his attention at the moment. "Leg might be stuck."

"Broken?"

Mac didn't answer. He glanced at Jack, a deep wince furrowing his features.

"Damnit," Jack yelled, slapping his good hand against the steering wheel. The horn barked at them once before he sunk back and pressed his thumb into the space between his eyes, trying to rid the incessant headache playing the bongos against his temples.

"It'll be okay," Mac said calmly, trying to convince Jack as much as himself. "Just gotta call for help."

"You're right," Jack said, straightening. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, we're okay. If we're still talking we're okay."

"Exactly," Mac could feel his teeth starting to chatter. Since his window had been smashed open snowflakes were drifting in through the cracks in the tree branches. He could see the puffs of opaque air when both of them breathed and he knew it wouldn't take long for the cold to become a real problem. They were each wearing a thick winter jacket but if they couldn't move around to generate body heat then the jackets weren't going to do them any good. Most likely they would survive the day but succumb to hypothermia overnight. That was, if the shock of their injuries or blood loss in Mac's case didn't kill them first.

"All right, cell phone. We need our cell phones." It seemed like Jack was mostly talking to himself at that point and Mac tuned him out, breathing deeply against the growing pain.

"Hey, you're not checking out on me yet, right dude?" Mac let his eyes fall open again. Jack had his cell phone in his hand and was leaning over the center console trying to get a better look at him.

"No," Mac told him. Jack's brow furrowed and he didn't look convinced but he didn't push the subject any more. "How's that going?"

"Damnit, there's no service of course." Jack said. "Can you get to yours?"

"Think so." Mac said, feeling around his pockets for a second before finding it. He handed the phone to Jack who sighed again. There were benefits and disadvantages to being in the middle of nowhere – and it was the exact same reason for both. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, to be far away from civilization, but it was also a curse if something went wrong and you needed help.

"Think you could whip up another Ladden Jar, homie?" Jack asked.

"Leyden," Mac corrected automatically. "And it wouldn't matter even if we could make another one. We would need to get close to another lightning strike for it to work and we're not exactly in the middle of a thunder storm right now. And the issue with the phone isn't the battery this time, it's the signal. And it's not a sat phone so even if the issue was the battery, we still wouldn't be able to charge it."

"Sorry I asked," Jack said and Mac's lips quirked into a small, tired smile. "You're the brains of this operation, what do we do now?"

"Gotta find better signal." Mac said, blinking rapidly to keep the pesky black dots out of his vision.

"I'm with ya on that one, man, but you're stuck. I can't leave you here alone."

"You have to, Jack, or we won't make it. No one is just going to stumble down this road and find us."

"We don't know how far I'm gonna have to go before I can make the call, pal. You could freeze to death in the time it takes me to get back."

"We're going to freeze to death for sure if you don't." Mac insisted. He didn't want to make Jack go gallivanting through the snow for who knows how long but their teeth were already starting to chatter. If they waited until they were really in danger and hypothermia had already set in it might be too late for Jack to even be able to try.

"I really hate it when you're right, you know that kid, don't you?" Jack told him.

"I know, b-big guy." Mac tried to smile but he was pretty sure it came off as more of a grimace. His heart sank when he noticed something that immediately made their situation a whole lot more complicated. "One more thing you're not gonna like."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"You have to get me out of the car." Mac said.

"I thought we just went over you being stuck; now you want to come with me?"

"Believe me, I really do not want to move right now but it's either freeze to death out there or burn to death in here. Personally, I like my chances out there better."

"What are you talking about, bud?" Jack asked. Mac lifted a shaky hand and pointed through the branches to the front end of the car where smoke was billowing from under the hood. Jack couldn't see it from his angle because the way the trees had crumpled the front had lifted the hood up on Mac's side so he could sort of see underneath it but all Jack could see was the raised, crunched metal.

"The cars on fire." Mac said. In that moment a sudden gust of wind fanned the flame and with a whoosh it grew exponentially bigger than it had been even two seconds ago, almost as if acknowledging the problem had exasperated the situation – which was honestly just their luck.

"Damn, no kidding." Jack said and pushed his door open. He stumbled out of the car and had to hold on to the roof for a second so he wouldn't fall over. Mac knew there was no way he was getting out through his own door. It was crushed up against the trees that had stopped them and with the tree branches sticking through his window it's not like they would have been able to open the door anyway. "I'm gonna help you get out through this side, okay bud?"

Mac nodded, both of them knew how much this was going to suck, but the fire was overtaking the entirety of the crumpled, metal hood. If it ignited the tree branches right in front of Mac's face…Mac didn't want to think about how much that would suck. He pulled out his knife and pried open the large blade with his teeth. He pressed the blade to the wood sticking out of his side, about six inches out from where it had connected with his body and held his breath as he began to saw.

Every single motion of the blade cutting into the wood made it feel like he was getting stabbed all over again. He could feel the wood grating deeper into his side, and more blood welled around the puncture site as the motion opened the wound more but he grit his teeth and kept going.

"Hurry up, man, you're about to get barbequed." Jack yelled when Mac was about halfway through the branch. With a quick glance, he saw the flames licking at the tree branches and knew that even though the wood was damp from the weather it would still ignite before too much longer. He could feel the heat against his face, thin beads of sweat collecting at his temples, and held his breath as he took the stick in his hand and snapped it the rest of the way. He let out a rough scream and reached across the seats for Jack's hand.

"Sorry, bud." Jack told him, repeating it over and over again as he began to pull Mac out of the car. Mac cried out again when his broken leg and ribs shifted as Jack manhandled him out of the car. He tried to shimmy his way out the best he could, to help Jack and stop his limbs from getting stuck as he slid across the center console and driver's seat, but it still felt like they were trying to rip his body in two. Jack grabbed him under the armpits as soon as he was able to get a better grip, completely ignoring his own broken arm, and hefted Mac the rest of the way out of the totaled vehicle. With a grunt, they fell backwards, Jack falling ass first into the snow and Mac landing solidly on top of him. Neither of them could move at first, each of them fighting their own pain.

"Gotta get farther away from the car," Mac grunted out, total exhaustion making it nearly impossible for him to move off Jack.

Jack recovered quicker then him and wiggled out from underneath Mac's lean frame. The fire had already breached the passenger compartment of the car, the flames eating away at the seat Mac had just been sitting in. If it had taken them even one minute longer to get Mac out of there…Jack shook his head to rid the thought and lifted Mac more comfortably onto his lap.

"I don't know, pal, it's getting awfully cold out here. Maybe we should have you stay by the fire while I go call the cavalry to come save your skinny ass."

"As m-much as I love th-that idea," now that he was in the snow, Mac could feel his body temperature dropping faster than before. "The fire could c-cause the gas tank to ex-explode. It's rare but it c-can happen. Do-Don't want to be to-too close when it does. Make a b-bad day worse, if you catch my d-drift."

"I hear ya, bud." Jack said. He wished his arm wasn't busted because then he could just scoop the kid up in his arms and carry him farther away. Even though Mac would complain about it being embarrassing, it would be a hell of a lot easier on his injuries. Instead, he pulled Mac up and wrapped his good arm around Mac's waist. The kid gasped at the pressure on his broken leg but they didn't have a choice. If Mac was sure they had to move, Jack would take his word for it like he always did. "Sorry, man, bear with me."

Mac clenched his teeth so hard he thought he might break one as they plowed through the shin high snow. His leg threatened to give out with every stumbled step and by the time they finally got far enough away he had to breathe deeply through his nose so he wouldn't pass out face first into the snow. Jack finally helped him sit with his back against the bark of a massive tree trunk but all Mac wanted to do was curl up on his side and disappear until the pain stopped.

"That's it, breathe through it." Mac could hear Jack's coaching words. He knew Jack was right so he tried to even out his breathing, but he could feel the pain like a second heartbeat pulsing through his body. "I'm with ya, man. Keep breathing, it'll pass."

Jack was right and eventually the pain settled down into a more bearable throbbing. With a final shaky exhale, Mac finally pried his eyes back open and glanced up at the worried face of his best friend.

"I'm g-good." Mac said, carefully wrapping his arms around himself as he shivered. Thankfully, Jack had deposited him on the side of the tree away from the harsh wind but sitting in the snow had a way of making him wish they had chosen a more tropical destination for their vacation.

'Right." Jack frowned, his eyes flicking down to the branch now a little more loosely imbedded in Mac's side. "Sorry if I don't believe you when you're currently bleeding like a stuck pig."

"It's n-not that b-bad," Mac gritted out. "F-fighting the c-cold is gonna b-be our biggest challenge."

"Here, then, you need this more than me." Jack said, unzipping his jacket but Mac simply shook his head.

"You c-can't take that off." Mac said. "It won't really help me but you'll f-freeze without it."

Jack frowned but begrudgingly zipped his jacket back up. Good, Mac thought, Jack didn't have to be happy about it but at least the self-sacrificing idiot wouldn't freeze to death before help could arrive just to give Mac a tiny bit more warmth.

"Hang on, bud, I've got an idea." Jack patted his hand against Mac's shoulder gently before trudging through the snow back toward their car that was still very much on fire.

"What are you doing, g-get away f-from there?" Mac tried to lean over to make sure Jack didn't get himself blown up but was stopped short when it pulled at the stick in his side. Damnit, so much for their peaceful ice fishing adventure. They were going to need a vacation from their vacation – which always seemed to be the case. Maybe they should just stick to working, they seemed to have more luck on cases with people actively trying to kill them then they did trying to cash in on some down time.

In less than two minutes, Jack was back and dumped both of their duffle bags on the ground beside Mac.

"Good thing we put these in the trunk and not the backseat, the car's toast man." Jack said, unzipping the bags and digging out their spare clothes.

"There g-goes your insurance p-policy again." Mac smiled mischievously.

"Ha, ha, very funny, dude." Jack grumbled, wincing in sympathy when Mac's small smile vanished when he helped the kid sit forward and placed both of their towels under Mac so he wouldn't have to sit directly on the snow.

"It's not my fa-fault this time." Mac continued, he had to admit he was grateful for the buffer the towels offered between him and the cold. Jack took some more of their clothing and tucked them around Mac's lap.

"I'm sure we can find a way to blame you if you really need the credit there, Angus." Jack said and Mac hissed out a shaky breath when it made him laugh. He wasn't laughing anymore when Jack wrapped a t-shirt around the stick and pressed down. "Sorry, bud, gotta stop ya from turning all this pretty white snow red. I thought you had a greater appreciation for nature than that?"

Mac's eyes were clenched tight, his face pale and breathing shallower than Jack was comfortable with.

"Hold this right here, man, okay?" Jack said, lifting one of Mac's freezing hands and placing it over the bandage. Mac didn't open his eyes but he did as he was told and kept the shirt in place. "I hate to say this but you know what has to come next, right homie?"

"Yeah," Mac said through clenched teeth. "This is gonna suck, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately," Jack told him seriously. Mac simply swallowed convulsively before nodding. He was clearly trying to hide his fear behind a mask of bravery, and Jack knew Mac had one of the highest pain thresholds of anyone he knew, but he could tell the kid was starting to flag. The pain and shock and cold were working against him and no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it his resolve was slipping.

Jack sighed, knowing there was no way he could help the kid without hurting him a little more. He knew deep down that in the long run a little pain was better than leaving the broken bone alone and simply hoping for the best. He maneuvered himself so he was kneeling down by Mac's lower legs. His own broken arm throbbed in time with his heartbeat but they could take care of that next. Luckily, this wasn't the first time he had set a broken leg in the field however it was a lot harder when the person you had to do it to was like a son to you.

Mac watched him silently as he pressed his hands against both sides of his knee and slid his hands down his shin. Jack knew he found it when he reached about half way down and the whole leg turned slightly in the other direction. Mac hissed, his body flinching when Jack found the break.

"Y-you gotta find some-something to splint it with f-first." Mac told him. Jack nodded; luckily they were directly under a tree with nice and sturdy branches that would certainly do the trick. He stood up and snapped off a few before getting back into positon by Mac's broken leg.

"Keep pressure on that," Jack instructed, pointing toward the t-shirt. "And I ain't gonna judge you if you have to scream, okay bud?"

Mac pursed his lips but nodded. Jack winked, hoping to appear at least a little bit reassuring and gripped his hands around both sides of Mac's leg. He knew it was going to hurt his own arm and ribs when he did this but he would do anything to help Mac. It was also sure to hurt Mac more, but again, a little pain now for less long-term damage later.

"You ready," Jack asked.

"On three?" Mac supplied, smirking a little.

"Sure, bud." Jack said and then immediately pulled the broken bone back into place. Mac didn't scream, or cry out, or anything. He simply gasped quietly, his face losing the remaining color it had, and clenched his eyes tightly shut, his head pressing back hard against the rough tree bark.

"Sorry, sorry…" Jack repeated as the bone slide back into place and he grabbed the branches, putting one on either side of Mac's leg and tied them steady with a few more shirts.

When Mac finally opened his eyes again, Jack was kneeling beside him, his face a mask of concern. Mac felt the cold air hitch in his busted ribs as he finally got a firm hold on the pain, and smiled a little when he realized his leg felt much better than it had before.

"You okay, man, it looked like you were gonna check out on me." Jack said, placing a comforting hand to Mac's arm.

"I thought we agreed on three." Mac said with a tired, woozy half-smirk. "You didn't even d-do the trick of going on one."

"That's because everyone goes on one," Jack said. "You would have tensed up immediately."

"That's probably true." Mac admitted. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, kid." Jack sighed. "Just don't make me do that again."

"No promises," Mac told him. "But I'll do my best. Let me t-take a look at your arm, n-now. How're you're head and ribs doing?"

"Pretty sure my arm's just fractured since I've been able to use it, my ribs are doing just about as well as yours are, and what's one more concussion to add to the collection?"

"I don't know, man, after more than a century working in the field I'd say you've probably had enough concussion to last a lifetime."

"Keep joking around about my age, there slick. When you're my age and paired up with a scrawny, know it all who likes to make fun of your age don't come cryin' to me about it."

"Wh-what about your wh-whole you go kaboom, I go kaboom thing? Kind of implies we're going to go out in a blaze of glory together." Mac shivered harder and Jack tucked more of their clothes around him.

"Well, I mean the point isn't that we have to go kaboom, it's just that if you do I do too. But I fully intend to get you to the age where you are sprouting just as many grey hairs as me, kid."

"So twenty, thirty more years, then." Mac leaned his head back against the bark, blinking black spots out of his vision.

"You keep pushing me, homie, and you're gonna be finding your own way back to civilization. How's that sound, huh?"

"S-still do it f-faster than y-you." Mac's teeth were chattering so hard it felt like one of them might crack.

"Maybe, but let's not test that little theory of yours right now, 'kay bud?" Jack reached forward with his good arm and brushed a stray strand of hair off of Mac's pale forehead. Even though Jack's fingers felt like icicles, Mac's forehead was even colder. Jack frowned; he shouldn't be this cold yet. He knew blood loss and shock were most likely the cause. The kid hadn't had the chance to recover from the trauma of the crash and now his broken body was forced to endure the harsh elements, of course he wasn't faring well. "You sit tight, and I'll do all the work as usual and try to find some signal, how's that sound?"

"G-good." Mac clenched his eyes shut, hugging his arms carefully around himself. Jack didn't want to leave Mac there to fend for himself. If he fell asleep there was a very good chance we wouldn't be waking up again. That was an absolute unacceptable outcome and Jack refused to give into to that possibility. "Ca-careful."

"Always am, man." Jack tapped Mac's cheek until the kid's blue eyes opened. They were brighter than normal, the hue they took on when he was struggling, in pain. "You stay awake until I get back, you hearing me right now? I don't want to come back to find a Mac-sicle waiting for me, we're getting out of this together, dude."

"O-okay, Jack." Mac said, lifting his head from the tree and lifting a wobbly fist. Jack stared at it for a second before clenching his jaw and bumping his own against it. Yeah, there was no way he was losing this kid. He'd made that promise for the first time in the Sandbox with the harsh, scorching sun beating down on them day in and day out and now in the snowy mountains far away from civilization, and he had made that promise many more times in between. He had gone around the world with Mac so many times he had lost track a long time ago and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. So many things had changed in those years but that one simple promise never did – Jack would fight to keep his blond-haired, know-it-all, wunderkind alive and no matter how many times that promise was tested, he would never break it.

"I'll be right back, brother." Jack said.

"I'll b-be here." Mac smiled.

"You better be." Jack winked before tucking the extra clothes around Mac a little more snugly. He hesitated for one more breath and then walked away.

Mac watched him go, the cold keeping the majority of the pain at bay, and felt the warm embrace of sleep beckoning him.

Just have to stay awake, Mac thought, don't fall asleep…

Jack trudged through the deep snow and up the steep incline until he got back to the road. The broken expanse of white leading to the burning car looked horrible and it made Jack's heart clench at how easily their impromptu off-road excursion could have been fatal. Once he made his way to the road, he took his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. He had to be careful, the cold was sure to kill the battery faster than usual. If both phones died, they would be in big trouble. Jack didn't want to think about it but he was a realist and knew that if they couldn't contact help their trip may still prove fatal.

The deer that had inadvertently caused their whole disastrous situation were long gone, their tracks already filled in by the continued snowfall. He kept his eyes locked on the service bars, willing the phone to pick up even the tiniest of signals.

He didn't know how far he went, his mind still back with Mac sitting injured and freezing against the tree. Mac was the most competent person he knew but he wasn't indestructible and life had a way of dragging the poor kid through the wringer. Jack was good at keeping him in one piece, or at the very least putting him back together again, but he had always known that there was the very real possibility that he might fail someday – that he wouldn't be able to bring the kid back home in one piece, or at least alive.

It was hard to love someone so much.

Being in his line of work all his life, especially since he joined the Army right after high school, he had never had the chance to have kids of his own. He still could someday but the chances of that happening looked more and more slim with every year that his life remained as dangerous as it was. The truth of the matter was Mac and Riley might be the only chance he had at being a father-figure. He had ruined his relationship with Riley once, which was something he would never do again, and he had his son right here – hurt and relying on him to get him out of this mess.

He hadn't considered the depth of that burden when he realized he couldn't leave the kid behind and signed up for another tour in Afghanistan. There was a part of him that knew that feeling was never going to go away, though, and he wouldn't make a different choice even if he could. As hard as it was to watch Mac suffer, to see him pale and in pain, he wouldn't trade loving that kid for anything else in the world.

Jack cursed when his cell phone died and reluctantly pulled Mac's from his inner pocket. This was their last chance, their final hope, and if this failed then he would go sit by Mac's side and if they had to die then they would go together, just like he had always said. You go kaboom, I go kaboom wasn't an empty promise. The wookie life debt he owed Mac wasn't a joke. They put kinder terms over a deadly serious vow to lighten the mood in grim situations but the underlying pledge was forged in steel. Jack always thought their final stand would be against armed mercenaries but if their final enemy was to be a car accident and the elements then so be it, as long as Mac didn't die alone, that's all Jack cared about. He hated the idea of what it would do to Riley, or anyone else in their little family, but he knew they would take comfort in the knowledge that they'd had each other to lean on in the end.

Jack almost missed it when he finally stumbled into an area that actually had signal. He stared at the phone in shock for a moment, not believing what he was seeing at first, before quickly dialing a familiar number.

"Mac, aren't you and Dalton supposed to be enjoying your time off right now?" Matty's voice rang through the phone, tinny and breaking up but there.

"Matty, it's Jack."

"What are you doing with Mac's phone?" Matty asked cautiously. "Are you guys okay?"

"No," Jack said immediately. "We crashed the car, Mac's hurt."

"How bad? Have you called local emergency services yet?"

"Called you first, figured you could get on the horn and get their asses here double time." Jack said, breathless now that knew Matty would do whatever she could to get them the help they needed.

"Good call," Matty said seriously. "Hold tight, I have Riley in with me today and she's already tracked your location. Take care of our boy."

"Make the call, Matty, or we're gonna lose our boy."

"Understood, Jack." Matty said before Jack heard the beep that signified a dropped call. He glanced at the phone; the screen was dark except for an outline of a battery with a tiny red line at the bottom. Jack tightened his grip on the now dead phone.

It's okay, he told himself, it didn't matter if the phone was dead or not. Riley had found them and Matty was going to send in the cavalry to help them. He just had to get back to Mac.

With his strength renewed, Jack turned and jogged back down the road. The snow was getting deeper. Hopefully a plow truck would drive by soon. Jack didn't grow up in a place that got this much snow but he knew that when there was a bad snowstorm it could take hours between plowing of these out in the middle of nowhere side roads. Still, he had to hope for something and that was a lot easier to think about than the possibility that emergency vehicles wouldn't be able to get to them because of the snow.

He found the spot where they had gone off the road easily and hurdled down the hill toward the still-burning car and Mac's tree. He slid to his knees beside Mac. The kid's face was almost as white as the snow, his lips turning a dusty blue as he shivered. He was breathing heavily; like every breath was a tremendous effort and Jack hoped it was simply the cold and not broken ribs wreaking havoc on his insides. Jack sighed in relief when Mac's hazy blue eyes opened. It took a few more seconds than Jack was comfortable with but they finally tracked to Jack's face.

"H-hey." Mac said, purple-tinged lips quirking into a sad imitation of his usual smile. "I ke-kept my pr-promise."

Jack ruffled Mac's hair gently, letting his face fall into his easy mega-watt grin. "You sure did, kid. I'm proud of ya."

"Th-thanks, get sig-signal?" Mac asked, wincing as his body flinched with the force of his shivering. That had to be hell on his battered body. Jack maneuvered so he was sitting with his back to the tree as well and carefully lifted Mac's upper body until his back was against Jack's chest. Mac grunted, gripping the t-shirt against his side harder.

"Sorry, brother." Jack said softly. Mac seemed to melt against Jack. It was painful to have most of Mac's weight resting against his broken ribs, and he straight up refused to acknowledge the incessant throbbing in his arm, but it was worth it if it provided a little more warmth for Mac. "Yeah, I got signal. Matty's got it covered; we'll be out of here in no time."

"G-good…wh-where's my kn-knife? Needta cut f-fuel line." Mac slurred, his head kept bouncing as he tried to keep it upright, his eyes drifting shut of their own accord before he would force them open.

"Stay with me, bud." Jack told him. He lifted a hand to Mac's wrist and counted the sluggish beats. The kid was well into the second stage of hypothermia. "You don't have to worry about anything right now, okay? Just stay awake."

"Use it, u-use f-fuel for acc-accel'rant…"

"Bud?"

"Bi-bigger b-boom if casing...b-bullet casing…"

"Mac?"

"Jack, have ta run b-before ex-explossion..."

Jack was at a loss. He knew one of the symptoms of moderate hypothermia was confusion and slurred speech and he hated seeing Mac go through it. He knew where the kid's head had gone – the mission that injured him in the first place before they went on this godforsaken vacation. That's what always tended to happen when Mac was overly exhausted or out of it. Jack knew Mac's brain never shut down, never quieted, and he was always thinking about everything all at once, but when his defenses went down it all came pouring out. The filter Mac usually had firmly in place disintegrated and the monumental burdens that constantly plagued Mac's mind were set free.

Jack pulled Mac closer. He wasn't shivering as much now and as much as Jack wanted to think it was because of the extra warmth he was providing he knew it wasn't that, that the cause was his condition worsening.

"I'm so sorry, man." Jack whispered into Mac's icy cold, blond hair. "You wanted to stay home, work on looking for your dad, and I pushed us to come here."

"Was'a good idea." Mac slurred against his chest. Jack glanced down, tears springing to his eyes when he saw that Mac's had cleared a little.

"If we just stayed home like you wanted, you'd be sore but warm and on the mend. Not bleeding out in the snow and freezing to death."

"Wanted ta'come too." Mac told him. "You'were w-worried."

"Huh, I should have known you woulda caught on, man." Jack huffed out a laugh. He thought he had been hiding it better than that. "But you're right. I was worried."

"Search?"

"Yeah, about the search for your dad. More about what it's doing to you. You're not sleeping, barely eating, and I think it's starting to affect our missions."

"Wh-what?" Mac sounded hurt. "I ha-haven't put you gu-guys in danger."

"You're right about that, kid, but you've been putting you in danger."

Mac glanced up at him curiously.

"I'm the first to admit our job is dangerous, bud, but I can't help but notice you've been putting yourself in harm's way more and more lately. And the scary thing is, man, you haven't even noticed that you're doing it."

"I'm be-being careful, Jack." Mac insisted.

"Not lately, is what I'm saying." Jack shot back. "You went to Paris without telling me and didn't notice that you had a hitman on your tail, then Murdoc kidnapped and drugged you. Then you locked yourself in a room full of nerve gas and stabbed yourself in the leg with a pair of scissors, and then instead of making something which is your thing, remember, you pulled me out of the fire with your bare hands – which don't get me wrong, I'm more than grateful for that, but you could have caused permanent damage to yourself – and then you offered yourself up as a hostage at that bank without even consulting me about it first. How am I supposed to feel when it's my job to protect you and you won't even tell me what you're thinking anymore?"

Mac was silent but Jack could see the gears turning over in his head, slower than usual, but still. Mac swallowed hard, before looking away.

"I'm sorry, man." Mac said, ashamed.

"You don't have to apologize to me, homie." Jack said comfortingly. "I just want you to realize how important you are to me, kid. I don't know what I'd do without ya. I can't put you in an early grave."

"I'll be more careful." Mac said, finally turning his eyes back to Jack's. Jack could see that he meant it and it settled something deep inside him that had been screaming for a while – the part of him that knew the kid needed help but didn't know what to do.

"That's all I'm asking for, bud." Jack told him and Mac nodded before resting his head back against Jack's chest. "How are you doing?"

Mac's eyes flicked up to his face quickly before darting away, as if he was embarrassed to admit to be anything other than one hundred percent fine.

"It's so cold, Jack." Mac whispered. "I don't…feel right."

"I know, kid, help'll be here soon. I promise." Jack tightened his grip around the shaking kid in his arms. He could hear faint sounds in the distance that sounded like a plow and closed his eyes in absolute relief. There was another sound behind that one, farther away, that sounded like sirens.

"They're coming, kid, just hold on." Jack said, rubbing his frozen hand along Mac's arm. Mac's eyes were blinking slower, they were cloudy and losing vibrancy by the second but he was clearly trying so hard to hold on.

"Jack…" Mac whispered as his eyes finally fluttered shut and he went limp in Jack's arms.

Jack's heart clenched in his chest but he could hear the sirens right above them now, the voices yelling at each other to hurry as they got closer and closer to where they were waiting.

"Keep breathing," Jack whispered to his best friend, his brother, his son…

"We found them, get the backboard!"

The voices were right there now and Jack nearly blacked out when the faces of their rescuers came into view and they pulled Mac carefully out of his arms.

"We've got him, sir, don't worry."

Jack leaned forward as they strapped Mac down and grabbed one of his icy hands, squeezing the limp fingers as proof that Mac was right there and would be okay. He only had enough time to lean down and whisper one more promise into Mac's ear before the kid was carried back up the hillside and into the warm ambulance.

"We're going home, bud, we're going home!"

**The End. **


End file.
